Scores injured as scuffle leads to violent clash between SUST students and locals

A violent clash between students of the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, or SUST, and locals living in the surrounding neighbourhoods has left scores injured.

Police said at least eight students were injured in the clash, while the university’s proctor office told http://bdnews24.com that at least 15 students sustained injuries.

Assistant Proctor Muhammad Mizanur Rahman confirmed that nine critically injured students were rushed to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital for treatment.

“The rest were provided first aid at the university’s medical centre,” he said.

Neither police nor the university authorities could confirm how many local people were injured in the clash.

According to witnesses, all the students involved in the clash are members of the university’s Bangladesh Chhatra League unit, while the locals are supporters of a Bangladesh Jubo League leader named Dulal Miah.

Both Chhatra League and Jubo League are associate organisations of the ruling Awami League.

Witnesses said the violence was instigated by a row between some motorcycle-riding outsiders, who forced their way into the university, ignoring a security guard’s request through the main gate of the campus, and some students, who protested the incident.

“The verbal row escalated to a minor scuffle, and the students were able to drive those outsiders out of the gate of the campus. The same outsiders, now bolstered by an increase in their number, came back after a while and started pelting stones at the students by forcefully entering the campus,” said Rakib Mia, a security guard stationed at the main gate of the campus when the incident started,

The university Chhatra League unit’s former secretary for environmental affairs, Khalilur Rahman, said the outsiders’ launched the full-scale attack on the students with sticks and stones while the members of the proctorial body were attempting to calm an already tense situation down.

“The leader of the group of outsiders, Dulal Miah, ordered his followers to throw stones at the students and the staff of the university’s office of the proctor. The stone attack injured at least 15 students. Two of them sustained grave eye injuries,” he said.

Dulal Miah did not receive any of the calls made to his mobile phone from the bdnews24.com correspondent for his version of the events.

However, Dulal’s nephew Mostak Ahmed Rajon, who claimed to be present at the site of the violence, said the whole incident was instigated by some Chhatra League members of the university, who, according to him, arrived at the scene armed with some sharp weapons.

“After the scuffle, we were standing beside the road outside the university's main gate. Suddenly we saw a group of students arriving with sharp weapons and chasing us. We asked for help from the seniors in our neighbourhood to stop the armed students, and that’s when the locals were involved,” he said.

“The students ransacked the local Jubo League office and some convenience stores and destroyed some vehicles,” Rajon claimed.

Rajon also confirmed that his maternal uncle sustained injuries during the clash, along with some other men.

SUST Proctor Dr Md Qumruzzaman Chowdhury, who arrived at the scene after the violent situation, said the university officials managed to calm the students down and bring them back inside the campus.

“We’ll sit with the neighbourhood leaders to settle the matter,” he said.

Earlier in March this year, a violent clash erupted between students of Rajshahi University and locals in the surrounding neighbourhood, leaving at least 200 students and scores of civilians injured. The clash erupted, centring an altercation between a transport worker and a university student.